The Maze Keeper
by TheNewBrokenEEB
Summary: Everyone thought Alby was the first glader. They were wrong. It was Hunter. (Will be following the movies. Minho/oc)
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my own character and any plot sequences I create to accommodate them.**_

 _Prologue_

As Thomas turned to leave his name on the wall like every other glader, he noticed one name that stuck out to him. "Hunter" it said. But Thomas was sure he had never met anyone still in the glade that went by that name, and it wasn't crossed out to signify that he had died. No, instead, it was circled.

"Hey Alby," Thomas called over his shoulder. "Who's Hunter?" Alby sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Hunter was the first." Thomas was visibly confused by this information. "Well, what happened to him? Why is his name circled?"

Alby sighed once more. This greenie was more curious than others, and it was wearing his patience thin. "Listen shuckface, no one knows what happened to him. All we know is that when the new greenie showed up, no one was around. We all just assumed that he went into the maze. And no one survives a night in the maze."

Thomas was growing tired of hearing this phrase constantly. "But–" "No more "buts" greenie. Now mark your name on that shucking wall before I kick your ass." Thomas complied with his wishes, but he couldn't help himself as he glanced back up at that name.

Unknown to them, a lone figure stood atop the maze, draped in all black, gazing down on the glade. No one noticed the person. They never did. He jumped down into the maze, grabbing ahold of the vines as he did so, and slid down the wall. Then, he ran off into the twisting corridors of the deadly thing, being sure to avoid any runners that would be out mapping the sections.

He had lived in the maze for three years, memorizing every twist and turn, every dead end, every crack in the wall. At night, he hid from those awful monsters that every one seemed to call "Grievers". He only ventured back into the glade when absolutely necessary, whether it be to restock on food and water, or to gather new weapons. But no one ever caught him. Turning another corner, the figure disappeared further into the maze.

Later that day, the being started to approach the front area of the maze, so he quickly grabbed hold of one of the vines that stretched from the bottom to the top, and after testing its durability, he climbed his way up the wall. Once he reached the top, he went into a somewhat crouched position as he ran on top of the maze. All of a sudden, he heard screams. Those were a sound he had unfortunately knew all too well. They were pleas of mercy, coming from a glader who, no doubt, was being banished. Most likely because he had been stung, and was therefore a liability to the other members of the glade.

He ran to the very front of the maze, making sure he was not seen, and watched the unpleasant even as the sun began to set. The boy's hands were tied behind his head, with every glader surrounding him hold poles to push him into the maze. A boy, who the figure recognized as the Keeper of the Runners, walked up behind him and cut the rope, causing him to fall forward on his hands and knees gasping for breath.

The Keeper proceeded to walk forward to the edge of the entrance of the maze, and upon further notice, appeared to hold a bag that contained only enough food to survive a night. "Minho, please. Please don't. Please don't do it." The boy begged. He felt pity for the boy, really. No one deserved this fate." The Keeper, now identified as Minho, looked back at the leader of the glade, who returned his stare with a single nod of his head. He threw the bag into the maze, discomfort noticeable upon his features only to a keen eye.

With a rumble, the maze walls began to close, and the surrounding gladers proceeded to lower their poles. They forced the boy into the maze, ignoring his pleas for mercy. With one last scream for help, the maze walls closed, sealing the boys fate. The gladers' heads all fell, silently reminiscing their times with the boy they just condemned to death. With one final glance at the glade, he jumped back down into the maze, and began the follow the boy.

After a little while, darkness set over the whole encampment. The figure ran through the maze, being sure to keep a wary eye out for grievers. All of a sudden, he heard a scream, filled with pain and agony. Picking up his speed, he turned a corner to come across the body of the boy who had been banished just hours earlier. He was still alive, but his whole body had been practically torn to shreads. Slowly approaching the former glader, he glanced around to find no grievers in sight.

He bent down, and looked into his eyes. They were filled with pain, and sorrow, and betrayal. "Please," he gasped as he choked on his own blood. "Please." He knew what he meant. With a small nod, he pulled out one of the many knives he kept, along with two swords, a bow, and quiver of arrows, on his person, and with one deep breath, plunged the dagger into the boy's heart. He ran his calloused fingers over the boy's face, shutting his eyes, before grabbing the small sack still next to him, and running of into the distance.

 _ **So there was the first chapter of my first Maze Runner fanfiction. I hope you liked it. Here is the website with my character's outfit on it incase you were wondering:**_ one_in_maze_hunters_outfit/set?id=196784462 **_So yeah. Follow, Favorite, Review. Adios._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Like he dd every time a glader was banished, Alby headed out with Minho to try and track Ben and see if he somehow stumbled upon a way out. As they ventured further into the maze, they came across a pool of drying blood. Exchanging a glance, they continued on through that corridor. They had been out for multiple hours now, and soon they would need to head back to the glade. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a griever jumped out from behind a corner. Raising its long, robotic, spider like leg, it slashed at the two boys, who in turn began to sprint away.

They weren't fast enough though. The griever raised its leg one more time, and stung Alby through his lower abdomen. He screamed in agony, and Minho, in the spur of the moment, punched him in the head, in hopes to prevent Alby from attacking him. Looking back, Minho was shocked to see that the griever had disappeared. He began to half carry, half drag Alby back to the glade, but he was running out of time. There was approximately five minutes until the doors closed, and he doubted he would make it.

Meanwhile, the lone figure who lived in the maze was casually walking through the maze, for he had not seen any Runners that day. He found it odd, but paid it no mind. He once again climbed up the walls to see if anything was going on in the maze. Then, he heard the familiar rumble of the maze doors closing. But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted what appeared to be Minho dragging an unconscious Alby towards the entry. "They aren't going to make it." he thought to himself as he heard the gladers shouting at the boys to hurry up, to try and make it through, for Minho to leave Alby behind.

And just as the doors were about to close, something happened that shocked him. The newest greenie, he presumed, rushed towards the doors and slid through them, evading the grasps of his fellow gladers. Descending back down into the maze, he rushed through them towards the boys, his conscience getting the better of him. "You have to help them," it said. "They have a fighting chance at surviving, but only if you help them!" Internally groaning, he pushed himself faster, until he came upon the three boys.

"We're already dead!" Minho shouted in the greenie's face as he held him up against a wall. Coming around the corner, the person shouted "If you want to save your friend, I might have an idea." shocking the gladers. Minho glared as he replied "Who the shuck are you?" The hidden person sighed. "It doesn't matter who I am. But if you want to keep your friend alive, help me get him into the vines." He moved forward to grab Alby.

They looked at him reluctantly, but at the cry of a griever, they quickly got up and did as the masked person instructed. "Okay. Tie vines around him, and once he's secure, we haul him up onto the wall. That should keep him out of the grievers' sight." He worked as he spoke, and soon they were each holding a vine, pulling Alby up onto the wall. "Come on. That's it." Thomas encouraged. "Just a little bit further, and then we can tie him off."

Around the corner, the sound of an approaching griever starting getting louder. Minho continuously looked around it, clearly terrified. "Minho, what are you doing?" Thomas asked, his voice shaking. He looked over at the Runner, and seeing the look on his face, his voice dropped down, almost into a growl. "Minho, don't you dare." Said Keeper looked at the two, and it was clear he had made up his mind. "Sorry greenie." he said as he released his hold on the vine and sprinted into the maze.

This caused him and Thomas to lose their footing and slam into the wall, eliciting a groan from the former. They quickly hid themselves in the vines, hoping and preying that the griever would not notice them. It crawled past them, and with a silent gasp of relief, they quickly stood up and tied off the vines. "Come on, kid." he whispered as he yanked Thomas around the corner as the griever came back into sight. They stood there for a few seconds before coming back around to see it gone. They looked back up at Alby, and seeing that he was secure, they began to walk down the corridor as grievers screamed into the night.

Feeling his instincts prick, he turned around just as he saw goo fall onto Thomas's shoulder. Looking up, he saw a griever. "Oh fuck." He groaned as he grabbed Thomas's arm and ran off. "Follow me!" he yelled over his shoulder. "I know this maze better than anyone!" Thomas, however, didn't listen as he pulled off in another direction. Noticing this, he turned and ran after the kid, follow him around twists and turns, all the while trying to avoid being stung or killed by the pursing griever.

Unfortunately, they came to a ledge that broke off. Across it was a wall of vines. While Thomas hesitated, he, on the other hand, jumped of the ledge and grabbed onto the vines and shouted up "Come on you slinthead!" He climbed down with ease, while Thomas latched onto to the wall. The griever jumped on as well, entrapping the poor kid as it attempted to sting him. He began to slip and fall, and the griever followed him. "Get down here!" he yelled up from the bottom, feeling extremely worried for this brave yet naive boy.

Just then, the griever began to fall, and pulled Thomas down with it. He rushed over and attempted to help him get out of the vines that entangled him. After he was up, they ran down to the end of the pathway, where Thomas stopped and turned around. To their left, Minho cam out of nowhere are grabbed on to Thomas, "You crazy son of a bitch." The griever cried out in rage, and they ran off to their left, with him bringing up the rear.

As they ran, the maze began to change again. "Come on!" Minho shouted as the turned once again. When they came around the bend, Minho spoke, "Come on, this sector's closing. We can lose it down here." Thomas began to follow after him, but then he stopped. "Thomas what the hell are you doing!" he shouted as he attempted to push him to move. "Trust me" he said. Groaning as he realized his plan, he gave Thomas one more shove before he pulled out his twin swords. "Go, I'll hold it off."

Right as he said that, the griever came around. He swung his blades, blocking every swipe the griever made with its robotic legs. Just as it was about to take another swipe at him, Thomas yanked at his arm and they ran. Minho was at the other end, shouting "Thomas! What are you waiting for? Get out of there!" The griever chased after them, and Minho continued to shout Thomas's name as the walls almost completely closed in. With one last lung, he pushed himself and Thomas out of the corridor as the walls closed in, effectively killing the griever, which had been one second away from also escaping.

Sighing in relief, they all collapsed against the wall. Thomas turned to him, and in between breaths managed to ask "Who...are...you?" Minho, too, looked over. Sighing, he spoke. "I guess you two shanks deserve to know my name after the hell you just went through. My name is Hunter." He pulled the hood that usually covered his face down, and unzipped his jacket to reveal a head of blonde hair that went into a long braid. When they looked at his face, Minho and Thomas were shocked to see that it was no, in fact, a boy, as they had believed, but a girl. No older than the age of sixteen.

"Wait," Thomas began. "You're Hunter?" shock and confusion laced his voice. He recalled when Alby had told him briefly about Hunter, the first glader. She nodded. Minho was just as shocked. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Alby told us that Hunter was the first person to ever be in the glade, and that he disappeared before anyone else got sent up." She sighed. "Alby wasn't wrong. I was the first person sent up in the box. When I arrived, I couldn't remember anything except my name, just like you. With me were a bunch of supplies. I used them all to create a small shelter for myself, but eventually I grew curious."

She leaned back as she continued. "For two days I watched the walls of the maze open and close. And on my third day there, I decided to explore it. I guess I must have had a good memory in the past." she chuckled humorlessly. "I was lucky enough that I could remember where I would go so I could get back. I knew that if I didn't before nightfall I would be locked in." The two boys stared at her intently as she told her story.

"I ran this damn maze for two weeks, once a day, from sunrise to night fall. Then one day, I think I became too curious. I heard the screams that came from the maze at night, and I wanted to know what it came from, considering they never happened at night. After the second week, I gathered all the weapons that came up with me, packed as much food as I could, and ran into the maze. I haven't left it since." They looked at her in shock.

"It's been three shucking years, and the only times I ever come out of this place are when I absolutely need to, usually because I've run out of food or water." She stood up and dusted off her already dirty clothes. "Come on. We need to get back to your friend. It's almost sunrise." They stood up and followed her, attempting to keep up with her fast paced run. Of course she would be faster than them. When they almost reached Alby, Thomas stopped them. "Wait."

She and Minho turned to look at him. "Will you come back to the glade with us?" he inquired. She looked at him before she turned to Minho. She wanted to here what he had to say. He shrugged his shoulders. "We could always use another Runner. And I'm sure Newt will wanna hear about this. Ah!" he hissed in pain. He bent down and grabbed his leg. She sighed. "Here. Sit down and let me take a look." He glanced at her skeptically. She scoffed in return. "Relax. I've been living in the maze since I was like thirteen, I think I know how to treat a wound.

Reluctantly, he did as he was told, while Thomas went to the corner to be on look out. Tenderly, Hunter rolled up his pant leg to see a gash in his shin. It wasn't particularly deep, but it was fairly long. "You must have got your leg caught on a vine or something." She said as she stood up. "Just make sure you keep it covered. It doesn't look infected, but but just in case." She reached her arm down, offering him help standing. Looking up at her, he almost smiled as he took her hand.

She must have overestimated her own strength once again as when she pulled him up, he practically slammed into her. Seeing as how their chest were practically pressed together, they each took a subtle step back. "Sorry," she said as she zipped up her jacket again, pulling her hood up and over her face once more. "Sometimes I forget how strong the maze has made me." She turned her back and motioned for them to follow her as she lead them to where they hid Alby.

 _ **Whelp, that was chapter two. It might have sucked, but meh, what you gonna do about it. Its two in the morning when I'm writing this, so if something sounds weird, let me know, cuz that's probably why. Vote, Comment, you know, all that jazz. Or don't. That's cool too. Bye**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

All the gladers stood outside the maze as they waited for it to open. Most of them believed that the boys were killed, as no one had yet to survive a night in the maze, at least to their knowledge. However, they had to at least make sure before they came to that conclusion. The sun rose, and with a loud boom, the doors began to open. Every boy squinted their eyes, trying to peer into the growing opening to the maze. When the doors finally opened, they were met with the sight of an empty corridor.

They all sighed. Some hung their heads in grief, and most turned away to return to their jobs. One glader stayed by the opening though. It was Chuck, the youngest boy at the time. "Give it up Chuck," an older boy said to him as he turned around to face the kid. "They're de–" he cut himself off as he peered back into the maze. "No way."

For in the corridor, Minho and Thomas hobbled towards the entrance, supporting Alby's weight in between them. Gladers rushed towards them, eager to help them out, and find out how they managed to survive the night. Behind the three boys, Hunter walked slowly, keeping a fair distance between them. She had her hood up, so no one could see her face. And so far, no one had noticed her, which, in her mind at least, was a good thing.

The gladers pulled Alby off of Minho and Thomas, and they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Chuck looked over at them. "You saw a griever?" he asked, although it sounded more a statement than a question. Breathily, Thomas replied "Yeah." Minho shook his head before looking back at everyone. "He didn't just see it. He killed it." Everyone looked around in shock. But one person caught a glimpse of something in the maze. "What's that?" He pointed towards the maze. Everyone followed his direction until their eyes rested on Hunter, even though her face was still covered.

She sighed. "Well, there's no going back now." she thought to herself as she began to walk forward. The gladers visibly tensed. She was grateful when Minho spoke up. "Don't worry. She helped us survive the maze last night." He glanced back at her, a small smile ghosting his lips. "She?" Newt questioned. There had never been a girl in the glades before. He was wondering why now, and why she came from the maze. Each boy began throwing questions left and right. Hunter's body tensed up, and without a second glance, she turned and ran back into the maze.

"Wait!" Minho shouted after her, but he was too weak to chase after her. Sighing, he fell back into the grass next to Thomas. As she ran further into the maze, Hunter thought to herself, "You made the right choice. You helped them survive. You did your part." She picked up her pace and ran even faster. She felt bad for leaving them there. But she hadn't been around people since before she was sent up into the glade, and she doubted she would be welcomed with open arms. Thomas and Minho had been nice enough, but that didn't mean the others would be too. With one final burst of energy, she dashed around a bend and disappeared.

Back in the glade, a gathering was being held to discuss everything that happened. It was absolute chaos really. Everyone was shouting, trying to figure out what to do. Gally stood in the middle of the Homestead, where everything was going on. "Things are changing." He said. Murmurs of agreement spread across the room. "There's no denying that. First Ben gets stung in the middle of the day, and then Alby. And now our greenie here, has taken it upon himself, to go into the maze. Which, might I mention, someone has been living in all these years without us knowing. A girl, no less."

"But he has clearly violated our rules." He continued before Frypan, the cook, chimed in. "Yeah, but they saved Alby." "Did they?" Newt looked at Gally, annoyance hidden in his features. "For three years, we have coexisted with these things, and now, you've killed one of them. "Yeah right." Thomas thought to himself. Hunter had told him how she had watched gladers get stung, killed, and tortured by these things. "You haven't coexisted." He thought. "You've been prey to vicious predators."

"Who knows what this could mean for us?" Gally asked t o no one in particular. Newt spoke up, "Well what do you suggest we do?" with a tilt of his head. "He has to be punished." Everyone began to object, but he spoke again. "The girl too." This caused more confusion and disagreement amongst them all. Newt, on the other hand, remained calm. "Minho," he called out. "You were there with him. What do you think?" Everyone began silent as they turned to look at the Keeper of the Runners.

He sighed, before speaking. "I think," he paused. "in all the time we've been here, no one's EVER, killed a griever before. When I turned tail and ran," he gestured to Thomas. "This dumb shank, stood behind to help Alby. And it was the girl's idea to hid him in the vines." He paused once more, before continuing. "Look, I don't know if he's brave, or stupid." Some people chuckled. "Whatever it is, we need more of it. I say we make him a runner." Many people shouted in outrage, some in agreement, and, in Chuck's case, chants of Thomas's name, though it soon died out.

"And what about the girl?" Newt spoke over all the voices. "What did you ind out about her?" Once again, everyone quieted down in interest. Minho looked to Thomas, before reluctantly speaking. "Her name's Hunter." People began to whisper. They had all heard of how the first glader, Hunter, had disappeared before Alby had shown up. "She said that she's been living in the maze for three years, how she had been the first glader to ever show up." He chose not to go into to much detail of what she had told them. After all, it wasn't their story to tell. "I say," another pause. "we let her join her join the glade."

Once again, shouts broke out, this time discussing both Thomas and Hunter. Gally, annoyed with all of this, yelled out. "If you wanna throw the newbie a parade, then fine. But if there is one thing I know about the maze, it is that you do not–" he was cut off by the alarm of the box blaring through the glade. Even in the middle of the maze, Hunter too could hear it. She rushed up one of the walls, and ran forward to look over head at what was going on.

The gladers looked around in confusion, before rushing out towards the box. "Chuck, do you know what's happening?" he asked the younger boy as they exited the homestead. "The box, it's coming back up." he said as he swiveled his head to look at everyone. "It shouldn't be." Minho spoke behind them before rushing forward. Gally and newt were the first to reach the box. Opening it up, Newt jumped in to see what it contained. "Newt, what do you see?" Frypan called down to him. Looking back up, Newt spoke slowly. "It's a girl."

Choruses of "what" and "no way" circulated through the crowd of boys surrounding the box. Looking down, they all saw what Newt was talking about. A girl, no older than themselves, with pale skin and long brown hair lay unconscious. "I think she's dead." someone called out. "What's in her hand?" Gally motioned to Newt. He bent down, and pulled a piece of paper from the girl's hand. She's the last one. Ever." he read aloud. Even from her place on the wall, the boys were speaking loud enough that their words echoed back to her. Hunter took a sharp inhale of breathe. "Something is about to happen." she thought. "The first glader was a girl, and now they are saying that the last one is a girl, too. This is can't be good." She looked back down on the scene.

After reading the note, Newt looked back up at the boys. "What the hell does that mean?" he questioned aloud. Suddenly, the girl gasped awake, but only for a few seconds. "Thomas!" she choked out, before she fell unconscious again. The gladers all slowly looked up to stare at Thomas. "Oh no." Hunter thought to herself. Thomas gazed up to meet their stares. "You still think I'm over reacting?" Gally rhetorically asked the group.

Only a few of them entered the Homestead once more. As they passed by the makeshift infirmary, Newt saw Alby shaking, whimpers escaping his mouth. "Jeff," Newt called out as they walked towards the girl. "what's going on with her?" "I don't know man." The med-jack responded. "I got my job he same way you did." Newt looked back at Thomas to see him staring down at the girl. "What, d'you recognize her?" Thomas shook his head.

"No" he replied. "Really, cuz she seemed to recognize you." Newt said skeptically. "What about the note?" he inquired. Newt looked back down at Teresa before replying. "We'll worry about the note later. As they continued to speak, Hunter began her trek around the top of the maze. She wondered what they would do to Thomas, considering over the years, she had seen many punishments the gladers dished out. From cleaning the kitchen, to being banished, Hunter believed she had seen it all. Or at least enough to know that even though he had helped saved Alby's life, him breaking one of their biggest rules would not go unpunished.

By now, she was sure that either Minho or Thomas had shared her story with their fellow gladers. She was starting to regret every helping them. "But if you hadn't, Thoms surely would have died." that little voice known as her conscience spoke. "You saw how Minho ran off into the maze, Thomas and Alby both surely would have died." Hunter thought back to the Keeper of the Runners. She was shocked when he had first ran off, leaving herself and Thomas to die. Of course, she couldn't exactly blame him. He wanted to survive, that was the only thing he was thinking about at the time. After they had escaped the griever and were safe, when she had gotten to know them both a little bit, she found herself having a respect for the Runner, maybe even a small liking towards him. Shaking her head clear of the thoughts of the two gladers, she continued walking, trying to find the dead griever from the previous night.

"Someone's gotta have answers." Newt spoke as they discussed how they would survive if the box wasn't coming back up. "Yeah." Thomas whispered before he turned around and started walking away. "Where are you going?" Without turning back, Thomas responded, "Back into the maze." Minho shook his head in disbelief before walking back out with him. "Hey." he called after him. "Hey Thomas. Hey, hey" he stopped him from walking. "What is this with you, huh?" he inquired. "You got a death wish or something? We just got out and now you want back in?" As he spoke, he could help it as his thoughts faintly drifted back to the girl who had saved their lives the previous night, the one who had been living in the maze for three years.

Sighing, Thomas turned to him. "Look, Newt said that no one has ever seen a griever and lived to tell about it right? Well Minho, now we have one." he motioned towards the maze. "We also have someone who would know the maze better than ANYONE, even you. You're telling me you're not even a little bit curious?" Looking back at him, Minho responded very bluntly. "Not really." But even as he said this, a little voice in the back of his mind whispered "Liar."

Thomas began to walk off, but Minho once again stopped him. "Alright, so what's the plan?" he inquired, giving in to the greenie's wishes. "You're gonna go out and dissect that thing all by yourself?" "No," he responded. "I'm gonna see if I can find Hunter and get her to help." he said hopefully. Minho rolled his eyes. "Have the other runners left yet?" he questioned. "The other runners quit this morning. Not that I blame them. After Alby got stung, they're not in any hurry to get back out there. Why are you?"

"I," he stuttered briefly. "I think it's time we found out what we're really up against. "Alright." Minho conceded. "But you're not going back out there alone." Thomas began to bring up Hunter, but Minho quickly cut him off. "Meet me in the woods in ten minutes." and he sprinted off.

A little bit later, Minho, Thomas, and a few others reached the corridor where the dead griever rested. "The hell do you slintheads think your doing?" came a voice from above them. Hunter had just reached the section, having taken her time walking above the maze, when she saw the small group arrive. Grabbing ahold of a sturdy vine, she quickly climbed down the wall to meet with the boys. While the others looked up at the hidden figure in shock, Thomas smiled up at her, pulling her into a hug when she reached the bottom. She froze up, and quickly pushed the boy off of her, clearly uncomfortable.

"What the hell are you doing here Thomas?" she asked as she pulled down her hood once more to reveal her face to the rest of the group. They stood in shock, which cause Minho to crack a small smirk. "Trying to get answers. I figured the griever would help with that." came the young boy's response. She sighed, and shook her head ever so slightly. A small smile ghosted her lips. "Looks like we had the same idea." she said lightly.

 _ **Well, that was chapter three. Hope you liked it. You know what to do, Comment, review, favorite, follow, whatever yinz do now-a-days. Bye**_


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